Since when are hand doctors treating the mentally defficient? OK, that was worded badly. Let's try it again- Since when are hand doctors sending their mentally defficient patients to a neurologist as opposed to the psychiatry/ psychology guild?

And if my guess about Dr. Hand is right, he'll be wanting a consult with Dr. Grumpy - something about that twitch every time this patient shows up.

Another example of somewho voted on Tuesday. No clue about life or anything going on in it. You would wonder how they make it day to day, yet there are people like this all over the place. Or, perhaps it's people like me that are just way over achievers? Who knows?

Could it be that everyone is being a bit harsh here and jumping to a conclusion for which we don't have all the info? What if the person had a TBI, stroke, or dementia? he sounds like someone I know who had an "anoxic event" and now can't remember how to do anything.

I had several patients like that in Huntsville, Al. All retired rocket scientists, literally. Many worked with Von Braun himself... Couldn't remember what meds they were on, or even which side their kidney stones were one. Had to check with their wife on everything...

To be more fair, one must ask two more questions before confirming intellectual level. 1. Was this man yawning at any time during this interaction? 2. Was the phone number call-back number associated with a public phone such as a bus station?

Not that I've personally tried this ;) but, this is the sort of interchange I might make with someone whom I have absolutely no no knowledge of the profession, such as car repair shop, of which my husband left me a cryptic note which I just found in my purse (and was told I should call before they close for the holiday weekend) after a longggg 14 hour shift including personal transportation time and worked four time zones away, and have woken from a sound sleep to the sound of fire engines which have quickly assessed don't involve me but there is no light such as might occur in a Newark, NJ motel 15 min. from the airport hoping the flight wont' be cancelled.

My Dad, a pretty smart man was like that. Mom is/was an old-school RN, so he'd hand all his meds to her, and she would dole them out.

Then I came along, not an MD or RN but pretty savvy with med-speak and powered with MY copy of Tabers, the Merck Manual and the PDR.

Dad had cancer and COPD, so there were lots of meds. I started checking for interactions (pre-Google) and Lo and behold, there was a couple of potential baddies in the mix, Rx'd by two different MDs. The stuff came from two separate pharmacies as well.

I pointed out the problem to Mom, who rounded on me and wanted to know if I was a doctor. (Funny, the only MDs she did not revere (came from the days when a nurse STOOD when a doctor walked in the room) were interns.)

No, but I can read, and this might be something to bring to MD1 or MD2's attention, I told her.

"And what makes you so smart," she wanted to know.

Fortunately, Dad came into the room when Mom was giving me the business. He asked, and I showed him what I had found. As he was seeing MD2 the next day, he said he'd bring it up.

Mom sat in on the exams and nearly passed out when Dad brought the med up.

Dad told me Mom's face went through the floor when MD2 looked at the med, and called MD1, and then gave Dad a new Rx for something else, telling him to throw the original med in question away.

Stacey Gordon, I believe it! Rocket scientist/engineer types can be amazingly bad with simple day-to-day things, even when they're younger. I don't imagine the ability to keep track of those little things increases any with age.

Welcome to my whining!

This blog is entirely for entertainment purposes. All posts about patients may be fictional, or be my experience, or were submitted by a reader, or any combination of the above. Factual statements may or may not be accurate.

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